The Padawan
by Mizra
Summary: When Siv Miraluka is elected to be a very special first padawan to the great Anakin Skywalker, she becomes enamored and falls in love with him.
1. A Very Auspicious Day

STAR WARS ALTERED UNIVERSE EPISODE I: THE PADAWAN

_Every decision in this universe begins with a carefully, thought-out review of choices. Each person has a choice to do what is right or to do what is wrong. They have the choice to make a name for themselves or to be humble. To live or die. To love or to let go. Star Wars is a story of choices. And how those choices affect our very lives and those around us. This story is no different. A complicated choice befell our heroes. To choose the life they want so badly or to live out faithfully their duties to the Republic. They chose duty._

_A decade passes and hope is slowly being restored to the galaxy. Strangely, the start of the Clone Wars brought about the flourishing of the Jedi Order. An influx of Force-sensitives were taken in under the various Jedi Temples of the Republic's galaxy, but with the balance tipping in favor the the Republic, the Separatists gained two hundred star systems more, including Malastare and the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyk, much to the dismay of the Jedi Order. The Senate voted for a new Chancellor, naming Senator Bail Organa as Palpatine's successor after his demise. Senator Amidala is still under service and has just came back from Naboo when her ship was attacked, senselessly murdering her fellow comrades and close, personal bodyguard. She is sure it is the work of the charismatic Count Dooku and General Grievous, leaders of the Separatist movement. Even with the Clone Wars dwindling to a few battles every now and then, there are still those who wish that the Republic be turned over to the Separatists. A certain Jedi Master has been requested to keep tabs on her during her stay at the Capital. He, himself, has returned home from an extended stay on Felucia, aiding Masters Kit Fisto and Aayla Secura with a skirmish._

_After defeating and extinguishing the Sith Order, along with the aid of Jedi Master Mace Windu, seven years ago, Anakin Skywalker has been raised to the rank of Master and has since been teaching a young girl named Siv Miraluka as his apprentice. Though the Council believed it unwise, he insisted, seeing potential in the young girl. We meet back to find Siv, lost in her daydreams, entertaining thoughts, ten years after first being chosen..._

**chapter one  
A Very Auspicious Day**

Siv Miraluka looked expectantly up at her master. She gazed into his eyes, trying to retain all his words to memory, but could not because of him. She thought he was beautiful. Handsome. Charming. And had such a grip on her that he couldn't understand nor grasp. She looked down, fearing her reverie was in danger. She smoothed her tan tunic, shuffling a bit, knocking the heels of her brown, rugged boots against the marble flooring of the temple. She quickly stole a glance again, brightly remembering how handsome her master was the first time she met him.

He was about twenty-nine years of age, a young age for a master, but nevertheless, still grand in his technique. She could watch him all day, practicing parries and complicated footwork toward the invisible opponent. She would sit still, gazing at his long, blonde hair and watching him reach deeply into the Force and perform jumps and move objects without the slightest apprehension or sweatdrop. He was the best thing that had ever happened to the Order and they knew it, she would tell herself. He was the prophecy fulfilled, ages ago when the Order was in its infancy and the Book of Whills was being penned. She would recall the stories he told her about the many dangerous missions he had went under to save his beloved mentor and master, Obi-Wan Kenobi and the token of his affection, the Senator.

Siv inhaled deeply, capturing all the rugged scents of her master's cloak, tunic and sweet cologne he wore on days he would spend in the senate, capturing his lover's gaze. Days that took him away from the senator were unbearable and how Siv had eventually become to hate and despise the senator from Naboo so fiercely. She had thought of many ways to take him from her, but only a handful of Jedi mind tricks and an extremely well-trained knight could take the senator out and relinquish her master from his obsession with the former Naboo queen.

"Do you understand? Your saber is your life and you must not risk losing it again."

He was scolding her again. She felt his cold gaze fall to her shoulders and she huffed and sighed.

"Yes, Master. I will not lose it again, Master," she routinely said, once again taking hold of the gleaming weapon that laid in her hand again. He had given it to her as a gift the first day she was accepted as a padawan and chosen away from the other younglings that might have held her master's gaze. She was very proud of her profound knowledge of the histories of the Jedi Order and the Council. That was what impressed him most, she believed. She was a quickstudy of the lightsaber but picked up rather slowly on using the Force to guide her in her practices and exercises. That was the least of her worries.

Siv came from a long line of Jedi Knights in her family. After a certain age, a Jedi was allowed to retire. If they chose to do so, they would still keep their title and lightsaber, but be free from the normal rules of the Order. They were then allowed to marry if they choose. Most did not. That long ago tradition was started, kept and upheld by her great-grandfather, whom was a Jedi, as was her grandfather. Then her father, then herself. It usually was the place of the male in the family to take up the lightsaber, but she was the only one to be born from her mother. Her mother died giving birth to her, so it was her father that took her up to the council when she was a baby and to see if she had the potential. Her midichlorian count was eight-thousand fifty-six. Very low for a Jedi, almost too low. But, at the persistence of her father and her heritage for grasping lightsaber techniques quickly, she was considered for padawan training when she turned six years old.

"Siv, are you listening?" said her master.

Siv's gaze pulled from the marble floor to her master's eyes. They were stern, yet cool and refreshing. She longed to have him look at her as he did the senator. She would accompany him on meetings to the Senate and she would see her master stare at the former queen with a desire he couldn't have. She knew a Jedi was forbidden to love. Moreso, love that binds two beings together so tightly that it could turn a person to the light or dark side of the Force.

"Yes, Master. I will not lose my saber again."

"No, Siv. You were not listening. Shall we try again or are you going to stare intently at the wall behind me?" said Anakin.

"I am trying to concentrate, but I simply cannot. Maybe I am tired, Master. Aren't you?" she said, as an innocent look pasted her face.

"Well, we have been practicing most of the day with your lightsaber. You can rest for an hour, okay? Then meet me outside the Senate at four o'clock, hm?" said her master.

"Yes, Master. And thank you."

Siv bowed and turned to leave for her dorm in the girls' padawan hall. She roomed with another girl from Coruscant, but didn't see her much as she was being trained by Master Windu. Master Windu was known to lead unusually long lessons in lightsaber techniques and, for that reason, many padawans were very skilled in the lightsaber when they became full Jedi. She knew many things about the Jedi Knights, their history and their pasts. The ones that interested her were the untold stories. She asked Master Yoda about them one day and he said that they were of no importance to a padawan. That it was a need to know basis and she didn't need to know. But, of course, she did.

Siv would venture to the libraries and found precious few books on these untold stories. The ones about bringing back a loved one from the dead interested her the most. She would spend hours looking up information about a Jedi rogue that posessed a great power with the Force. So great, that he had the capacity to bring back the dead and save lives. Other Jedi Knights saw this as unnatural and expelled him from the Order. He went out and gained revenge by teaching all he knew to an unknown apprentice and saw to it that the apprentice became as great as he was. It was said that one night, the apprentice became aware of how great his power was and murdered his master. In cold blood.

Siv searched the library for the names of these two, but could never find them. It was as if the Jedi had something to hide. Something dark. Something "on a need-to-know basis."

She retreated to her room and sat on the edge of her bed. It as quaint and comfortable, especially after a long run around the Temple. It was at those times she fully appreciated her quiet roommate, whom seldom spoke but only practiced. Ideas flooded her mind each day about ways to kill the senator, but she always wished them away, knowing full well what the penalties were and that she wasn't trained to kill, but to protect and defend the beloved Republic. Siv looked at the lampstand and saw the picture taken before she was born. It was set in a sleek frame that held a kind, ruddy-faced man in dark tan Jedi attire and a brown-haired, pale woman. She was told she looked so much like her mother. She had her mother's hair and infectious laughter. Her spunk and adventurous nature. Siv looked thoughtfully at the picture and rolled over to her side.

_If I only knew where to find that senator, I'd..._

She shook her head and tried to reach deeply into the Force to clear her mind of these whimsical notions and start thinking of ways to learn to use the Force better. She stretched across her bed, letting her weapon clatter to the floor. She was well on her way to becoming a full-fledged Jedi soon, as far as years went. She had been training since she was six as a Youngling and was still learning many things each day, but never could concentrate on them fully because of her master. His warm, inviting eyes. His mesmerizing scent after a long run. How she wanted to caress his cheek and show him how real love was supposed to be. Not that of a pigheaded politician whom has spent their summers in camps and working as a flunkie to the Senate.

------

Anakin Skywalker rubbed the back of his neck and felt a slow trickle of sweat bead down his forehead. He watched his first and probably last padawan walk to her dorm down the hall. He had never felt like a failure until now. He had tried for many years to correct her lack of disicipline, but he just couldn't get it right. Perhaps it was his doing so many years ago with Obi-Wan that sent this padawan karma back at him in the form of a headstrong teenager. He made his way to the Senate Hall, pushing his brown cloak to the back of his shoulders and surveying the room. It was quite an expanse and held senators from all over the galaxy. His eyes, however, were transfixed on the one to the left, high in the seventh row, the one from the planet of Naboo.

"This Senate will now come to order!" shouted Mas Amedda, advisor to the Supreme Chancellor. "The twenty-second meeting of the Galactic Senate has now begun."

Chancellor Organa stood, raising his arms to calm the senate boxes and ask for news about the Clone Wars from the outer reaches of the galaxy. This included Naboo.

"I would now like to hear of news from the Inner Rim systems. Will the Senator from Naboo report?"

Senator Amidala's face was awashed in concern as to what had occurred earlier and how she couldn't bear the loss of anyone else close, including her handmaiden and friend, Sabé. She trusted the Chancellor almost as much as her handmaidens. He was a great aid to her and the Jedi Order many years ago and still worked hard to make the galaxy fair. She stood up and leaned into the speaker.

"My crew and bodyguard were vital to my protection and to the welfare of democracy. I trust that they are remembered as the brave people they were. Who is trying to murder me is a question I am still asking. As is why. For now, the influence of the Clone Wars on Naboo, is that it has yet to reach our borders and that we are doing exceptionally well after the Trade Federation attack years ago. I will keep you updated on every aspect of the people of Naboo." She turned, sitting down and lowered her head, holding it in her hands, sobbing quietly.

_She musn't have had time to grieve. She must miss her so much. I don't think I can look at her much longer, crying like that. Especially when there is something I can do about it, _Anakin thought, angling himself toward her box. He listened to the rest of the meeting and, and an hour later, he walked toward her box to greet her.

------

Siv looked at the light out her window. The purples and reds of the night were creeping in and she knew it was an hour later. She got up, readjusted her attire, and walked to the Senate Hall to meet her master for another lengthy practice. She had just turned the great marble column just before the hall when she spotted her. The object of her rage that consumed her every time she saw the woman. The woman looked unhappy about something, holding her head in one hand and snaking her other arm around a handmaiden. The handmaiden, which looked exactly like her, was also unhappy about something, but her face didn't show what the problem was.

Siv turned and laid up against the marble column, holding her breath and reaching into the Force to calm herself. She knew these feelings were bad, but she also knew how much she hated the senator for taking away the gaze of her master. He had been all Siv's for many years and now that she was back in the picture, he looked only for her.

_Something must be done about her. She could ruin him!_ She thought, validating the reasoning for dispatching a senator quickly.

_Besides, she probably is ruining her planet anyway and won't serve a better purpose other than tangle up the Republic in beaucratic tape!_

Siv placed the hood of her cloak back over her head and walked briskly toward the Senate Hall, where she would meet up with her master and not feel the need to speak to the Senator again. Not after what happened the last time they bumped into each other.

------

Anakin bounded through the doors like a kid on his Life Day and ran out to greet the senator.

"Senator Amidala! Senator Amidala!" he waved his hands and looked toward her face. She turned to face him, her face mixed with sadness and joy as she realized it was her long ago friend, Anakin Skywalker.

"Jedi Master Anakin, how good to see you!" she said the tall, sandy-haired man running toward her. He caught up with her and, almost forgetting his place, hastily bowed and smiled widely to his good friend.

"How have you been?" she added, catching a glimpse of a certain teenage padawan walking toward them both.

"Very well, even with my hands full with my padawan learner. You remember her, don't you?"

Senator Amidala peeked behind Anakin, remembering that awful afternoon when she had spoke to the girl, just making casual conversation about the Senate's rulings for the day, since the padawan had attended. The padawan had said that she could never seen how such a greedy, malicious senator like herself possibly be any worse than the Trade Federation's army.

"Yes, I do remember her. Quite well," she waved her hand to the girl slowly and turned back to face Anakin.

"She has been a bit mischievious lately, but I think she will make a good Jedi. At least, I hope," he said with a chuckle.

Senator Amidala chuckled back. "I seem to remember a certain padawan whom was very michievious and got himself and his master into trouble."

Anakin's cheeks blushed. "I don't know _who_ you could be possibly talking about," he replied.

Anakin looked at her with those eyes again. Eyes that knew better, but couldn't bring himself to part ways with the senator's. He forced his mind to other agendas.

"So, how have been things on Naboo? I am glad to hear that the Clone War hasn't made an impact there. I don't believe it could take much more," he said, reminding her of the Federation's attack nearly twenty years ago.

"You would be surprised, Master Jedi, on how the populace recooperates and flourishes even under the harshest of conditions," she said, smirking.

"With a leader like Queen Amidala, what country wouldn't flourish?" he said, flirting, gently.

Senator Amidala looked at him again, gazing into those inviting blue eyes. So calm. So still. Like nothing could ever make a ripple in those eyes. Except her. She knew he liked her, if not loved her since a decade ago. They both had expressed feelings, but knew that they couldn't live a lie. Anakin Skywalker was a padawan learner. Padmé Naberrie Amidala was just starting her rule as senator. They both could not leave their viable posts to pursue something that could, quite possibly, turn into something deeper and more real than either of them imagined. Duty before love. That was the way it was and always would be.

Siv cleared her throat, startling the two from their reverie. She looked to the senator, bowed slightly, and then turned to her master and bowed again.

"Are we going to continue _our_ lesson, Master? We were going to work on my using the Force to move and grasp things."

"Yes," said Anakin. "We will continue shortly after I have said goodbye to the senator. It would be in your best interest if you didn't interrupt again, my very rude apprentice."

Siv stared at him, mouth agape, and wondered why he would make a fool of her in front of _her._ She bowed, hastily, and walked toward the lounge where other students were relaxing after a hard day of practice.

"Where were we senator?" he said.

"You were impressing me," she quipped.

Anakin could feel his cheeks turning pink again and he asked her to accompany him to breakfast the next morning, his treat. She obliged.


	2. What Secrets Lie In Our Hearts

**chapter two - What Secrets Lie In Our Hearts**

_Well, are you guys ready for the second chapter? Thank you so much for the comments! I do appreciate them.  
_**mrs skywalker:** Anakin is indeed that old. This story takes place ten years after Anakin fought with Count Dooku on Geonosis, making his padawan thirteen. Siv's name is an Old Norse name meaning 'bride', which I thought fit perfectly to what she wants to be: Anakin's bride.

* * *

Siv watched other padawans, laughing and giggling, testing what they had learned that day on other students and other objects. Siv watched a taller boy, about fifteen, engage in a small saber battle with their practice lightsabers they had been given. They were powered very low and would only leave, at best, a mild burn. Only the more advanced students would receive a full lightsaber with color at their master's discretion. Siv heard a familiar click-clack of boots of her master's feet and stood up to face not her master, but of Master Obi-Wan.

"Master Kenobi!" Siv exclaimed, bowing in his presence.

"Siv, where is Master Skywalker? I would like to speak with him."

Siv shook her head. "I don't know, Master Kenobi. Last time I was with him, he was speaking to Senator Amidala about the Senate meeting. Shall I have him paged to the lounge?"

Obi-Wan shook his head. "No thank you, young Miraluka." He walked away, his long, brown Jedi robe swaying gently behind him.

_Whew! That was close. I don't think Master Kenobi likes me very well. He seems to be looking at me strangely whenever I am near him. I hope he doesn't suspect anything._

Siv headed quickly to the lounge and made her way out the side door to the elevators. She was now on a personal mission and had to be completely secretive about everything until her mission was complete. She had studied every possible instance and tangible process that could occur. She would pick it up and arrange a meeting with the Senator shortly this evening, before the lights in the halls were dimmed and the candles were lit in the temple library.

-------

Obi-Wan turned back to the Anakin's personal quarters, hoping to catch him. Obi-Wan's stride became quicker and his mind reeled from the news of Sabé's passing. He had sat in the senate's meeting to listen for any news about the Clone Wars on the Outer Rim. When he heard the news, a tear trickled down his cheek. After so many years in battles and losing fellow compatriots, his sense of loss never grew hard and, even with Yoda telling him to let go and rejoice because they had rejoined with the Force, he still couldn't help but feel sorrowful. He knew Sabé very well from the senator's previous visits. She befriended the aging Jedi and the two became close friends. Like brother and sister. She, also, lived a life of duty and was the sworn protector of her friend and queen, Padmé Amidala. He turned the corner of the marble column and smacked into one of Senator Amidala's handmaiden.

"Pardon me, General Kenobi. I am terribly sorry!" she said, getting up off the floor, guiding his elbow up as he steadied himself.

"That's quite alright. Is Senator Amidala with you?" he inquired.

"Yes. We were waiting for Jedi Master Skywalker and Mistress Amidala to finish greeting each other. They seem happy to see each other again after such a long time."

"Yes. I am sure they were. Where did Master Skywalker go?"

"To the lounge, General Kenobi. He was looking for his padawan, sir."

"Yes, of course," Obi-Wan said, thinking of how he was going to tell Anakin the news. "I'll look for him there. Thank you, milady."

Obi-Wan bowed to the handmaiden and they parted, leaving him to bring word to Anakin about the feelings he has had about Anakin's padawan, Siv Miraluka. He turned the corner to enter the lounge when he saw a flash of bobbed brown hair and the glint of a lightsaber hilt exit the side door, leading to the elevators to the lower levels of Coruscant.

_Was that who I thought it was?_ Obi-Wan thought, remembering all his time spent with Anakin and his first padawan, recalling the instances where she was indeed much like his old apprentice: mischievous and headstrong.

-------

Anakin gazed around the room quickly, searching for his padawan. His eyes sought for the bouncy brunette through a thick fog of padawans, practicing with their lightsabers and showing off tricks using the Force. Stepping down the three steps to the main floor, he sensed something he hadn't for so long. A deep, angry feeling; one would almost need to search feelings in the Force to sense it.

_Where could this be coming from?_ he asked himself, in the back of his mind. He knew it wasn't himself, but a different person. Someone close to him...

"Master, are you ready? I know I am!" Siv smiled, showing off her bag of stones. Her master used them in his own training as a boy, and now, Siv would use them in her training to learn to understand, use and control the Force.

Anakin looked at her expectantly, shrugging off the anger, and nodded to her. They walked outside, through the courtyard to the Jedi Training Hall, where they had spent countless hours working on saber techniques and Force usage.

"Siv?" Anakin asked, slowing his pace and turning to her. "I want to apologize for scolding you in front of the senator. It was wrong and I do admit that and apologize."

Siv looked at him. He could never do or say anything that would ever lower her respect and admiration for her dear master. She did feel a bit betrayed about the scolding, but was willing to reconcile quickly, so as long as she could be with him. Close and near to his beating heart.

"That's alright, Master. I forgive you. I know that only with your teaching and discipline that I can grow stronger as a Jedi," Siv said, without ever batting an eye, nor looking to his face. She couldn't allow herself to look to much tonight for fear of what he could learn through her eyes.

-------

Several hours later, a very tired and weary master and padawan learner slinked back to their rooms, ready to sleep the evening away. Before going to his room, Obi-Wan tries to stop by Anakin's quarters one last time to speak with him. He walks the long hallway to the Masters Dorms and knocks on the door to Suite 1138. Anakin opened the door, greeted Obi-Wan with a hug and welcomed his old friend and mentor in to his chambers.

"Anakin," Obi-Wan began. "I have something I have been meaning to speak with you for some time."

"What is it, Master? Would you like something to drink?" he asked, pointing to the bottle with a stemmed glass.

"No thank you, Anakin. I just feel there are things that have being going on that have not been shared between us and between Senator Amidala. I know about her, Anakin."

Anakin stopped mid-pouring his glass of the red wine to comprehend what it was that his master was saying. Obi-Wan knew about the relationship between Padmé and himself.

He swallowed hard and fought for his composure. He wasn't angry, but scared. Frightened, actually, at what Obi-Wan could possibly know about their relationship.

_Why should I be fearful? I did what was asked of every Jedi and I let her go. 'Attachment is forbidden.' I let her go..._

"Master," Anakin said, slowly choosing his words carefully. "I did what every Jedi is asked of him: I gave up my material possessions to follow the simpler and more profound life of a Jedi."

"Yes, but you didn't give up everything, did you Anakin? You disobeyed the Order to fall in love with a politician."

Anakin turned, slightly angry at his old Master. "But I didn't act on it! I gave her up to follow the Jedi Code! I gave my mother up to follow the Code! I gave everyone I loved up to the Code as a sacrifice and now, what do I have to show for it? Peace with the Force? No. After all these years, I am still not at peace. That is why I took up a padawan. To find inner peace with myself and the Force." He sat down on the edge of his bed, covering his head in his hands, showing off his gloved, mechanical hand and one human hand.

Obi-Wan felt the old, angry Anakin's tremor through the Force as he stretched out his feelings to understand his former padawan. He remembered the closeness the boy had shared with the queen as a young lad but when it resurfaced as love ten years later, he reminded Anakin to be mindful of his feelings and not to let them get the best of him. Anakin was a Jedi and that was not something he could start abruptly and pick up again when wanted. Staying on course would require self-discipline and many years behind Master Yoda's teachings and Obi-Wan's before being able to control one's self at precisely the right amount of compassion and care, yet setting their foolish hearts cold against lustful desires.

"Anakin. I know your emotional attachments are a struggle for you, and always will be," Obi-Wan began. "But trying to suppress them and retreating to your shell and taking on a padawan all after that battle with the Chancellor Palpatine years ago cannot be good for your life force, or the good of your padawan, Siv."

Obi-Wan sat down next to Anakin and patted his shoulder. "There will be a time, Anakin, when all that you will have done will seem meaningless to you. Like all the good you have accomplished as a Jedi Knight will seem foolish to that of a more complete life with a wife and children."

Anakin looked up at Obi-Wan, feeling as if Obi-Wan wasn't scolding him as he did when he was a headstrong padawan, but showing him something.

"I, too, feel as though I am incomplete. As if something is missing from my life. It is then I think of how you have grown since I had first met you on Tatooine. You had the makings of a very strong Jedi Knight and I knew that you were going to do something great in your lifespan. I was also fearful of how that potential could easily be swayed to the Dark Side. I took you as my padawan, my apprentice. I have always known you were going to be a great Jedi Knight someday."

"Have you really, Master? I was always so hard to deal with and very troublesome as a teenager."

"Yes. You are a wise and caring Jedi Knight. If you were my son, I would be very proud of you."

Anakin looked at his Master and, for the first time, felt as if he truly understood how much he cared.

"But, since I am not your Father, I shall remain as your Brother!" Obi-Wan stated, standing quickly and grabbing Anakin's head to give it a playful rub.

The two masters laughed and chatted a few more moments before Obi-Wan began with what he had wanted to say originally. About Anakin's padawan, Siv Miraluka.

"Anakin, do you remember the first time you saw your padawan learn to use the Force?" Obi-Wan questioned.

Anakin put the glass to his lips, drinking in the red wine and swallowing swiftly, cocking his head back in a remembering gesture.

"I do remember the day she learned her first lesson in the Force. She was about seven, and still getting used to her lightsaber being powered up," he chuckled. "She had a way of making all her pains appear to be minute and her injuries as though they were nothing. Siv's hair, once, got cut off in a fury swipe she made, while practicing. Her long, brown hair now was half short, half long. I laughed so hard that I fell back to the floor. She didn't think it was quite as funny as I thought it was and she came over and sliced a lock of my hair from my forehead. It startled me, quite frankly," he said, placing his hand where the lock of hair once was, recoiling at the horror of a hair out of place.

Obi-Wan chuckled and shook his head.

_He has no idea what I am talking about. He doesn't realize anything about his padawan's entertained thoughts._

"Anakin, do you ever feel like Siv likes you more than a mere Master? Like more as an object of affection?" he said, outright.

"There were times when Siv appeared to be staring off in space, and, lately, Siv has been more secretive in my presence. Saying things that would only brush off and completely disregard my question."

Obi-Wan stared at his former padawan and began his explanations of Siv's recent behavior toward himself and how he witnessed her behave around the other padawans.

"She's quiet. Introspective. Keeps to herself and doesn't have that infectious grin across her face like she once did when she was but a Youngling. I believe in my personal opinion that she may be tampering with something that isn't the way of the Jedi. Something dark and very evil."

Anakin stood up and placed the glass on the table, realizing what his master just said.

_Could she be playing with the Dark Side of the Force?_


	3. The Spiral Downward

**chapter three The Spiral Downward**

_You guys are in for a doozy of an update. When we last left, Anakin was completely unaware as to what his padawan seemed to be thinking. Siv was carrying so much malice toward the senator that she may be desperate. Read on in this chapter as to what will happen!_  
----Mizra**  
**

**Goth Jedi:** _thank you so much! I'm glad to hear people are enjoying my story._  
**mrs skywalker:** _Siv isn't at the age of knighthood. It's just simply a middle age, 13. Did I confuse you? I'll fix it.

* * *

_

Siv sat on her bed, eyes closed, and reached deeply into the Force. She felt confidant, yet frightened at what she was about to do. She probed her innermost thoughts and carefully ran through her plot again, posing every detail and every possible obstacle in her path to destroying the senator.

After seeing every hindsight imaginable in her mind, she reached into her pocket and cradled the small vial in her hand. She had traded her bead necklace for the vial to a seedy merchant down on the lower levels of Coruscant earlier that evening, just before meeting with her master again. She looked through the vial and watched the watery, purple poison swish side to side. Placing it in her pocket again, she got up from her bed and walked out of her room, carefully closing the door.

Siv made her way towards the Visitor's Quarter, near the Senate Hall, and walked briskly to the senator's suite. She knew the number by heart, for it was her master's backwards: 8311. The senator had stayed in that room every time she visited, making it easy for those who knew who to visit her often, without alerting any of her presence during important votes at the Senate.

She walked to the suite and stood in front of two Naboo guards.

"I would like to speak with Senator Amidala. I am Siv Miraluka, Master Skywalker's padawan."

The guards exchanged glances and one told her to wait, while the other informed the senator. Minutes later, the guard came back out and told Siv she could enter. Siv walked into the suite, smiling like an innocent child when the senator approached her, with her two handmaidens in tow.

"Siv Miraluka. It is quite a surprise to see you. I hope you are doing well?" she spoke, with a stern, yet nervous voice. Her handmaidens stood at her sides, their blank stares looking back as if they were staring off somewhere else.

"I'm doing quite fine, Senator. How are you this evening?" Siv answered.

"Fine. I was preparing to lie down for the evening, but when I heard it was Master Skywalker's padawan, I knew it was something important to have him tell me. Is he here with you, young Jedi?"

"No milady, he isn't. He regrets to have been detained by Masters Yoda and Mundi. I have come bearing a remorseful apology."

Senator Amidala's face perked up and she spoke to her handmaidens to leave the room, allowing the two be completely alone.

Siv began. "I wanted to tell you how sorry I am for acting the way I did the last time you visited Coruscant. It was very foolish and immature and I hope that we can start anew?"

The Senator was surprised at the girl's words and felt sure that she was being genuine. She nodded in agreement and Siv stood up, stating that the matter was settled.

"Shall we have a toast, to our new friendship? To the Jedi Padawan and the Senator from Naboo!"

"Yes, that would be nice."

Siv walked to the table behind her, retrieved two stemmed glasses and a bottle of sparkling Coruscant champagne. She poured her glass and then, without hesitation, pulled the vial from her robe and poured it into the senator's glass. She watched the purple liquid bubble in the champagne, then return to normal color, making it so that it looked as if nothing was amiss. Siv turned and brought the two shining glasses to her and the senator.

They both raised their glasses and the senator gave a toast, "To peace to the galaxy."

Siv added, "And to my Master, Anakin Skywalker."

With that, they both drank the champagne. Siv watched as the senator swallowed and then watched in horror as she felt, in the Force, Padmé Amidala start to choke. A smirk spread across her face as she brought the glass down to her side and watched her rival writhe and uncontrollably cough and hack to the floor. Her handmaidens came in, and ran to her side, shouting for the guards. Padmé's eyes, for one brief instant, looked at Siv and knew what she had done. Siv was killing her.

Siv ran out the door, and turned back around to lock it with the Force. Inside, she pictured a wire being split and a fire begin to start. She soon could smell the smoke crawling from beneath the doorframe and ran out of sight, safely back to her hall, to her room for the evening.

-------

Padmé's eyes watered as she looked around for a way to escape. She crawled on the floor calling out to her handmaidens and guards, hoping one would have found her or the exit. She searched the floor for the edge to the door, and found the wall. She slowly crawled up and pressed the emergency button, releasing the door and running out the door, coughing and hacking. She turned back, long enough to shout for her companions one last time, before an explosion went off. It threw her backward, making her hit the wall behind her. She scrambled to her feet, still coughing.

By this time, several guards from the Senate began to run to her and calling for backup.

"Milady, are you okay?" asked one of the clone guards.

"No. Someone's poisoned me! And started a fire! Please help...us.." she said, watching her world turn black and the guard reach out to catch her.

-------

_Calling Masters Skywalker and Kenobi! Please report to Sector 20042 for backup rescue. There has been a fire in the Visitor's Suites! I repeat, a fire in the Visitor's Suites!_ called a loudspeaker in Anakin's quarters. The Jedi stood up and ran out of the room to answer the call.

_Please, Please don't let it be Padmé!_ He thought. The two ran down the hall and past the Senate, to the Visitor's Suites. There, they made their to Suite 8311, where Senator Amidala was staying.

From down the hall, they both could see smoke rising from the portal and rescuers hustling the injured out of the fiery room. Anakin grabbed his lightsaber in his hand and did a somersault to shorten the gap between him and her room. Obi-Wan followed closely behind him, grabbing his own lightsaber and making his way down to her room. Anakin made it to the door and ran in, calling out Padmé's name when a clone guard ran in and told him to get out.

"Not without the senator!" he shouted back.

"You must come out now! She is safe!" said the guard.

Anakin ran back out, following the guard and yelling to Obi-Wan to run with him. The two Jedi and clone guard ran past the suite just in time for a second explosion to go off, blackening the door portal and walls around it.

All three got up, rubbing various sore limbs as the clone guard informed them of the situation.

"About fifteen minutes ago, screaming was heard in Sector 20042 and I was dispatched to the scene. When I arrived, Senator Amidala was in her bedclothes, coughing and hacking her way out of the smoking room. Her handmaidens made it out, but her two guards didn't. They are thought to be dead. Senator Amidala tried to speak, but blacked out, most likely due to smoke inhalation and stress. She and her handmaidens were sent to the Medic Lab to be treated. The senator did say something about being poisioned, but I believed it to be hallucinations from the smoke's toxic fumes."

"Did she say anything else before falling unconscious?" asked Obi-Wan.

"No, sir. Just that she was poisioned and that there was a fire," said the clone guard.

Obi-Wan turned to Anakin and rested his hand on his shoulder.

"Let's go see how the senator is doing, hmm?"

Anakin nodded and began the long trip to the medic lab to find out exactly what happened. When they arrived, droids were whizzing by a white table with Padmé's body lying unconscious on it. Anakin felt a sob catch in his throat; seeing her there, like this, wasn't what he had wanted. He wanted to see her smiling face the next morning. Her love for pineapple for breakfast was her weakness and he always made sure she had all that she wanted when she visited the Senate. Now, he just wanted to see her open her eyes and look at him. He didn't want to lose her; not this way.

Obi-Wan put a hand on his shoulder, reaching into the Force to feel what Anakin felt.

Suffering. Pain. But, beyond everything else, there was a peace. Somehow, Anakin was still at peace with himself, even though she was near death. Anakin had managed to still love her, but without it overtaking him as it once did when he was younger. He had become wiser and knew how to better control his emotions.

Obi-Wan turned to a droid and asked how the senator was doing.

"We are doing all we can, but we seem to still be losing her. She may not make it through the night. The poison has already started into her blood stream. We are doing all we can to sustain her now."

Anakin turned to the droid, staring at him. His eyes were blank and he began to topple over. Obi-Wan grabbed him and helped him to sit on the floor, holding him carefully as if we would break. Anakin's eyes watered and soon he was crying. A grown man, and Jedi Knight at that, crying like a child who lost a dear playmate.

Obi-Wan gently stoked his padawan's back, trying to console his friend. He knew how hard this could be for him, but he didn't know how hard. Obi-Wan didn't realize the love they both had for each other. Anakin had been faithful to the Jedi Code, and now, with his only true love dying, he had to find someway to let them be together. She wasn't going to get better. The poison in her system was too strong. Whoever poisoned her, meant business. They somehow knew about how much this would hurt him and knew how much they truely cared for one another.

"Anakin," Obi-Wan whispered, begging for his attention.

"Anakin, you must stay on your guard. Whoever did this to Padmé meant to harm you, too. They knew how much you loved her and wanted you to feel pain for her loss. To grieve. Keep your eyes sharp and back carefully guarded, for these are dangerous times."

Anakin nodded his head through the thick haze of tears. Though his love for Padmé ran deep, he knew that he couldn't let it hinder him. To make him angry. To make him hate. It almost happened once before. Years ago, in the Chancellor's office.

_"Don't let him kill me. I can't hold it any longer. I-I-I-I can't. I-I-I'm weak. I'm too weak. Anakin, help me!" said a low voice from Palpatine, laying back, wheezing like a dying animal near the windowsill._

_"I am going to end this once and for all. He has control of the senate and the courts. He is too dangerous to be left alive!" shouted Mace Windu, pointing his violet lightsaber at the chancellor's throat, keeping his watchful eyes on him the whole time._

_"You can't. He must stand trial!" yelled Anakin, his anger rising for his friend, but torn to Master Windu._

_"Please, Anakin... Trust me. Don't you see what I was talking about? He is trying to kill me..." Palpatine said, getting weaker and weaker by the minute._

_"Don't listen to him!" yelled Mace, raising his lightsaber to strike._

_Palpatine's grin was wide and dark. He was the Dark Lord of the Sith and he knew it. He could feel the anger radiated from his body, and the power that was welling up inside him._

_"Noooo!" Anakin cried out, turning to his mentor._

_Anakin unsheathed his lightsaber, raised it and struck his mentor down in one, quick swipe._

_Palpatine held his left socket, where his arm used to be. His eyes showed of a man truly afraid of what was to come._

_"You could have been the strongest Jedi ever!" he cried, before succumbing to the pain and slumping down, dead._

_Mace Windu looked at Anakin, trying to understand what happened. Moments later, he powered off his lightsaber and he called from his comlink the Senate guards to come to the Chancellor's office._

_"We must report that a Sith was in the Chancellor's office. He has been destroyed and the Chancellor with him, also. Report to his office, immediately."_

_Mace turned back to Anakin, laying his hand on the boy's shoulder._

_"Anakin, you have done well. My trust is with you. I'm glad you did the right thing."_

_Anakin swallowed hard, knowing full well that he had aided the Master Jedi, but knew how much Palpatine meant to him. He was his first friend since his mother died. Now, he was gone, too._

Anakin reached into the Force and mustered enough strength to stand up and at least lean on her table, where he could look at her one last time. Obi-Wan retreated outside, where he could speak privately with Master Yoda about the senator's fate.


	4. What Remains Untold

**chapter four What Remains Untold**

**mrs skywalker:** the Force is strong with you, my friend. Yoda knows many things and what will become of everything that appears to be going to Hades will be revealed.  
**Relyan:** Yes, I know about the age difference. It's all about how SIV thinks about her master, not the other way around. Bear with me because this ride is only beginning!

* * *

Yoda woke to a beep on his comlink. Sleepily, he crawled down from his cot and walked to his table, yawning and rubbing his eyes. He picked up the comlink and heard Obi-Wan's voice. 

_Master Yoda, I am sorry to trouble you, but there has been a fire in the Visitor's Suite. It was Senator Amidala's._

Yoda's eyes opened further to listen to what his padawan of the Force had to say.

"Yes, Obi-Wan. A dream I did have, about such tragedy. Deathly ill, was she."

_What else did you dream, Master? Anything other details?_

Yoda closed his eyes, deepening his connection with the Force, rewinding the dream in his mind.

"A girl I did hear. Angry and dark, she was. Saddened and yet evil. Someone we may yet know, Obi-wan. Anakin knows this, he does?"

_No Master. I didn't have a chance to tell him about the things I shared with you about his padawan. You don't think she would do something like this, do you?_

"Clouded, her past is. Not yet been drawn, has the veil of the Dark Side. With them, I feel, she is."

_Are you sure, Master? She is but a young girl. No Sith in history has ever been that young! And how could Anakin not know it, with her be right there in front of him...Palpatine._

"Yes. Hmm. Like Palpatine, she is. Skywalker's life Force hears hers not. Jaded, he is, by his young apprentice."

_Jaded, but how? She is his padawan. Not that of a source of abject love. She only appears to... wait a minute! She has fallen in love with him, hasn't she?_

"Quick, you are, my Force apprentice."

_Will Senator Amidala die as a result of the padawan's jealousy?_ Obi-Wan said after several minutes of thought.

Yoda, was again, lost deep in thought. Finally, he spoke.

"Dreamt of a blooming lotus, I did. Beautiful and rare, it was. Suddenly came, it did. Rains heavy and dark. Tossed and turned, the lotus was, but held fast, it did, to ground beneath it," he said.

_Yes, Master. I think I understand what you are telling me._

-------

Anakin stared at Padmé, holding her hand, trying to control the despair and hate welling up inside him. He knew he couldn't let the hate take him. Not again. He had almost let it once before, when he fought his mentor Chancellor Palpatine, but he vowed never to let it happen again. He heard a groan and looked to see Padmé's eyes flutter.

_She's waking up_, he thought.

She opened her eyes, slowly, allowing the bright lights of the Medic Lab overtake her sight.

"Good to see you again, milady."

That voice. She recognized that voice.

"Anakin?" she questioned, dropping the formality between her and the Jedi and hoping her senses were not deceiving her.

"Yes? I am here, milady. I won't let you go. I will stay here with you," he said, meaning every word he uttered to his angel.

"Anakin, while I was fighting my way out, all I could think of was you. I didn't want to die without telling you what we have both felt for many years now," she said, taking in ragged, short gasps. She felt as if her whole body was ablaze, especially her lungs. "Anakin Skywalker, I have loved you more than life itself. We both knew we couldn't let our hearts judge our lives, but," she said, tearing up and looking into his eyes. "I cannot live a lie anymore..." her voice trailed off as she began to sob, coughing in between.

Anakin knew how much he had longed for her, but he had had no idea how she had done the same. They had spent their lives covering up that was too grand and too deep, and now, could hide no longer. He took her hand and placed it on his heart, looking deep into her warm eyes. He could feel the familiar, soothing presence through the Force. "Padmé Amidala," he said, forgetting his place and who she was. "I care for you deeply. When you are near me, I can't breath. Your presence is both soothing and intoxicating. I love you, Padmé."

Padmé's sobs lessened as she realized what was happening. Her first real love was found in a man who couldn't love her back. It wasn't the way of the Jedi. Now, he was willing to give it up. He had served the universe for ten years as a powerful Jedi Master and he was ready to give it all up for her. Could she tell him everything that had happened in that room? The poisonous drink and the awful truth? Could she save him from the horrible realization that his padawan was had been slowly turned to the Dark Side and was trying to kill her?

Anakin sat down on the edge of her bed. He cradled her, holding her until he could feel through the Force that she was calm. She no longer felt afraid, but more anxious. Worried about something that was obviously bothering her. "Padmé? Are you okay? Something is still bothering you."

"I am still thinking about Naboo," she lied, hoping that he couldn't tell. "Just being worrisome, I guess."

Padmé looked back at Anakin's face, starting to feel better, and tried sitting up. Anakin put his hand behind her back, helping her to an upright position. She could feel the burning in her lungs subside and felt the warm, soothing presence of him. It was deep and faint, yet there. Very still, but there. Anakin cupped her face in his hands, pulling her close. He had wanted to do this since he first saw her, and now, after so long, he was trembling with excitement. He reached into the Force, trying to calm himself, and pulled his face in to kiss her. She pressed back, wrapping her arms around his neck, his hands wrapping around her waist.

Anakin found it hard to let her go, but did so when he heard the familiar click-clack of boots coming toward the two of them. He turned to the sound to find his master, shaking his head. "Master, before you say anything, allow me to explain myself." Obi-Wan nodded and allowed his old padawan to explain his actions. Listening to him, he couldn't help but feel slightly responsible.

"You know the Council isn't going to be very happy with your decision, but.." Obi-Wan said, with hesitation, after Anakin was finished. "But what, Master?" Anakin asked. "But, there is one way to keep your title and choose love: The Miraluka Admendment."

"What is the Miraluka Admendment?" asked Padmé, turning her head from Anakin to his old master. "The Miraluka Admendment was made years ago by Gregor Miraluka, a great Jedi Knight. He, too, found love but wanted to still be a Jedi. According to the Order, he couldn't; so he sought out a way that would allow him to 'retire' sort of speak, and produce a family. In a way, keeping the Jedi growing steadily and still keeping themselves in check from the Dark Side."

"So you're saying that Padmé and I can still be together, if I 'retire'?" said Anakin.

"Yes, but it's the Council that has the ultimate decision. They need to see that this is real; they don't want a half-hearted decision, because it would irreversible. Once you retire, you cannot come out of retirement," said Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan looked to the both of them, Padmé's head resting on Anakin's shoulder. Their hope and welled-up love for each other had grown deep despite never once speaking their true feelings aloud. Slowly, the old master inhaled deeply and sighed. "We will need to take this up with the Council, of course, but only one thing remains: the disposition of your padawan, Siv."

The medic droids watched as one Jedi Master stayed back to say goodbye to the senator and the other waited momentarily at the door. The Jedi Master bent down and kissed the head of the senator and helped her lay down on to rest. He then stood up, and with a quick, one last glance, turned and left with the other Jedi Master.

"Are you feeling better, Miss Amidala?" inquired one droid, near her bed. "The scanners indicate that the poison has been cleansed through your system by that of only a miracle."

"Yes," she replied. "And yes, it was a miracle."


	5. Old Anxieties, New Situations

**chapter five / Old Anxieties, New Situations**

_Welcome back to a fun-filled week on this update! I have been waiting for this one for awhile. Interesting things will soon be revealed as we meet up with Siv, Anakin and Obi-Wan on a very important day to go to a very important meeting. What will happen as something new and oddly familiar is about to transpire? Enjoy this much needed (and longer) chapter._

_

* * *

_

Anakin walked very nearly in step with his former master, swallowing his anxiety and preparing his speech to the Council. If he was to leave the Order he would become retired, and supposedly never be able to come out of retirement. He realized what a step this was, but then again, being apart from Padmé was like learning to breath underwater without gills: it couldn't be done.

He loved her very much and never wished for more than simply being near her, and now, with the Republic at Peace and the Reign of the Sith ceased, he felt he could leave the Order and not feel the threatening tremor that called to him from the Dark Side. He no longer angered easily; he was now at peace with the living Force around him. His padawan was learning the ways of the Force, but still had difficulty controlling it. She was ambitious and mischievous, much like him years ago. With her, he felt like an older brother rather than the overly-critical Master he once thought his own to be.

"You know what will happen when you retire, Anakin?" Obi-Wan said, turning to him briefly but looking back to the hall ahead of him. "Yes, I believe I do, Master," Anakin replied, still reeling from what he was about to do. "The Council will decide whether or not it is to be, then grant me permission to leave, and I will become retire. It doesn't seem that complicated," Anakin chuckled, shaking his head from side to side, focusing straightforward.

Obi-Wan stopped and turned to Anakin. "Anakin, it isn't that simple. We need to find a suitable master for your padawan, Siv Miraluka. She still needs looked after because she us far from ready to face the Trials. She needs someone wise and someone well-seasoned in the Jedi Arts."

Anakin thought for a moment, and then his face light up.

"What about you, Master?" he said finally. Obi-Wan shook his head and gestured with his hands back and forth. "Oh no! I refuse to take another padawan so soon. Certainly no one so much like you were at that age," he laughed.

"But Master, she does trust you. She goes to you when she needs extra help on her saber techniques, does she not?" Anakin quipped.

Obi-Wan looked at the floor. His old padawan had him in a corner now. He would have to take her on. _Maybe I can teach her to keep calm and not continue down this Dark Path she keeps looking for._ "Okay, Anakin. You've got me. I will train your padawan when you retire," he said, after a long time. He began to walk forward again, but without missing a beat, quickly added, "But, you owe me big time. I expect a front row seat to your marriage to the senator."

Anakin laughed as all sorts of ideas ran through his mind. He was going to marry her, wasn't he? He was going to marry the woman he loved and have a family, like the one he had always wanted, ever since he heard the news of his mother's death nearly ten years ago this year, at harvest time. He remembered how the whole ordeal had gone.

_Obi-Wan knocked tentatively on Anakin's door. A minute later, a sleepy-eyed padawan stared back at him with a bit of worry in his tired eyes._

_"Master, what is it?"_

_Obi-Wan swallowed hard, trying to form the words in his mind._

_Anakin sensed the painful tremor that came from his master. " Is something wrong?"_

_Obi-Wan asked for him to be allowed to come in. Anakin bid him in, settling himself on his bed, with his master in the chair near the desk._

_"Anakin, I don't know how to tell you this, but your mother has died."_

_Anakin's face paled. He heard his blood pumping and could feel a sickness coming over him. Obi-Wan continued._

_"She was out gathering mushrooms that were gathering on the moisture evaporators, according to her husband, Cliegg Lars. She was taken captive by Tusken Raiders."_

_"I remember her sending a holograph about him. And my brother-in-law, Owen. I've never had a family..." he said, his voice trailing off, shaking his head. The only person that ever cared for him was gone. He stood up, pacing the room, feeling his anger well up inside him._

Those sandpeople! They're monsters! They killed my mother!

_Obi-Wan stood up and laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. He, too, knew what it was like to lose someone close and dear. Even Master Yoda, himself, knew the pain of losing someone. Anakin turned to his master and looked at him through tears._

_"She was in pain! I felt it! I could have helped her!" he yelled, becoming frustrated. Obi-Wan pulled him to the chair, looking him in the eye._

_"What do you mean, you felt it? Were you having dreams about her again?"_

_Anakin nodded. "Dreams of pain and sorrow. I wanted to badly to help her, but I knew my duty was here and so I said nothing."_

_Obi-Wan knew he would have a hard time with this._

_"Anakin, you know that even if you went to Tatooine, she most likely would have still been in danger. Those Tuskens are vicious and cold. They are nothing but monsters, and you know that."_

_Anakin nodded. He knew he might have not been able to save her; she would be well beaten down and bloodied before he could even find the right camp where she was being held captive._

_"Master?"_

_"Yes, Anakin?"_

_"I'm going to miss her."_

_"I know you will," he said, a tear sliding down his own cheek. "I know."_

He knew his mother would be proud of what he had accomplished to bring and end to the reign of the Sith and squashing hopes of the Galactic Empire that Palpatine wanted to create so badly.

-------

Obi-Wan walked Anakin to his room, and then, bidding him goodnight, left for his own room. Anakin pulled off his robe and laid it over a chair. He sat on the bed, taking off his boots and placing them by the bed. He went to the bathroom to shower and after getting out, turned his comlink off for the night. He rubbed the towel over his head, shaking the water from his sandy-blonde hair. He walked to his bed, and after turning down his bed sheets, reached in to the Force and turned off the light.

That night, he dreamed.

_Anakin was staring at his padawan Siv, while she held her lightsaber in her hand. Her gloves were blood-drenched and she had a smirk on her face. They were standing in the Council chamber, where he had been talking to Master Obi-Wan only a moment before._

_"Siv! What have you done!" Anakin yelled, igniting his own lightsaber and watching her with horror._

_Siv's eyes danced as she walked circumspectly around her master._

_"I just did what I should have done years ago. He was making you weak, Master," she growled, her blue saber turning to crimson as she spoke._

_"I have freed you, Master. I also am the one who tried to kill HER!" she screamed, pointing her finger to the senator, who sat at the other edge of the room, staring at the scene in horror._

_"Siv, if I have told you once, I have told you one thousand times! You can't let your emotions rule you!"_

_Siv lowered her eyes to the bleeding body of Obi-Wan and then to the frightened senator._

_"Master, if you won't love me for this, then you must be destroyed, too."_

_Anakin pointed his lightsaber toward his padawan._

_"I will do what I must."_

_"You will try," she said_

Anakin woke in a cold sweat, beads dripping from his face and down the nape of his neck. He leaned forward, his cybernetic arm clicking and whizzing as it reacted to the nerves in the rest of his arm. He pulled the bed sheets off and got up, wrapping his robe around him. He walked out to his balcony that overlooked the city. It was small; just room enough for two people, but that was all he ever needed. He didn't need more than he had right here at the Temple.

His thoughts drifted back and forth between the confusing things his dreams brought him. He knew that it wasn't just a dream, but a possible future, if something wasn't done about the events surrounding it. He had learned to trust his feelings more than the actual dream, although it would and could, potentially come true. Master Yoda called it Force sight, and it was actually started with the Miraluka clan.

_How things change,_ he thought. _But what about Siv? Could she really be playing with the Dark Side?_

-------

Across the hallowed halls of the Temple, a certain padawan awaited the morning dawn. She had already showered and dressed and, now, was waiting for the guards to knock on her master's door to tell him what had happened to his beloved senator. Siv's thoughts traveled to and fro between the present and past. From those dreadful days she spent as a Youngling in the care of Master Yoda to becoming the padawan of Skywalker. She felt the sting still of Obi-Wan's harsh words against her.

_You're midichlorian count is too low. It would be dangerous to train you. I won't do it.._

He had made her worthless in his eyes and those of her fellow padawan learners. She could still hear the whispering as she was passed off as a wannabe and nothing more. She told herself that she would do great things and that no one, not even Master Kenobi, would tell her she couldn't do something. It was Anakin who chose her after everyone else had been chosen. It was Anakin that said he would give her a chance to prove herself. It was on that day that she pledged her life to serving her Master and no one else but him. She would dedicate her life to learn all he knew and nothing he didn't. She could still remember the looks from the other padawans when he took her hand and laid a practice saber in it. Her very own practice saber. She would learn with it until she made her own. That was part of the Trials: making your own lightsaber. Her hand went down to the metallic cylinder resting on her hip.

_Now that I am grown, I bet Master Obi-Wan is jealous of me. Wishing I was his padawan._

"Well, you can't have me now. I serve Master Anakin Skywalker now. No one but him. He is my lord and no one else, not even the Council is better than him," she stated, under her breath. She was enamored of him and of who he was. She had heard him tell her the stories of how he almost had crossed over to the Dark Side many a time. When Count Dooku taunted him on Geonosis. When Chancellor Palpatine called to him in his office. It was the call of the Dark Side. He never heeded a word. It was Siv who could hear the taunts and wished for there to be a way she could free herself from them. She had already killed the senator, and with that, she knew, her fate was sealed. She had crossed over.

_But where did it begin? Was it when I told the Senator I hated her or was it when I was mad at Master Obi-Wan for not choosing me? I don't remember. That was so many years ago. I just need to tell my Master how I feel. Now that she is gone, I can freely entertain my thoughts about my Master_.

Siv let out a yawn and let that be the end of her ruminating. She knew what she had done and now what she must do. Profess her love to her Master. It was then that she heard the voice again.

"_Siv.._"it called.

Siv ran over to the hologram projector, careful to watch her dozing roommate through the corner of her eye. Anakin sometimes used this projector to call to her to request her when they were not scheduled. She pressed the transmission button and was soon greeted by the ominous voice again.

"Yes, sir. I am here," she replied, solemnly, like she wasn't herself.

"_Did you do what I have asked? Did you take my advice, my very inquisitive friend?_" the voice growled.

Siv nodded. She told the figure of how she had poisoned the Senator and started a fire in the suite, causing the whole room to burn to nothing but a charred mess.

"_Excellent. You have done well. You shall find that by eliminating the cause of oppression, your Master will see you as the real affection of his heart. Only one thing still stands in your way. The Jedi Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi._"

Siv's jaw dropped. She didn't know what to say to that idea, but she knew what she must do. The figure had been coming to her, pleading and edging her to do what she felt was right. What was best for her and her Master. It was nothing more than a cloaked figure, but it had a quality about it that she just couldn't name. A characteristic that seemed all to familiar, yet elusive in nature. She agreed to the figure's ideas and how it knew so much about the inner workings of the Senate and Jedi Council. She was stunned to understand how Master Mace Windu had killed the chancellor of the Senate many years ago, but it was covered up by the Jedi themselves, trying to cover a dark secret.

"How will I be able to rid of him? He is a Master, sir."

"_You will find that the Jedi Council is convening in a few hours. Then the time will come to destroy him, when he is near and unexpecting_."

"But the Council will surely capture me and send me to the Detention Center, if not worse!"

"_Silence! I will send someone to aid your escape. You will then meet me at the Senate Building at 0100 Standard Hours to heed to the rest of my instructions, young Jedi_."

"Yes, sir. I understand."

-------

Anakin had just finished getting ready for Obi-Wan when his old friend appeared at the door, knocking.

"Come in!" he shouted from inside his suite.

Obi-Wan stepped in, his palms sweating with anticipation of the day's events. He exhaled, allowing the Force to calm his nerves.

"Almost ready, Master. Just give me a few more minutes," he called, buckling his boots.

"Take your time, Anakin. Today is a big day," said Obi-Wan.

He looked around the room. A holo-image of a Master and a newly-appointed one caught his eye. It was the knighting ceremony of Anakin Skywalker becoming a Jedi Master.

_An investiture worthwhile,_ he thought. Masters Mace Windu, Shaak Ti, Ki Ati Mundi and himself looked on as Yoda knighted Anakin, giving him the privilege and duty of taking on a padawan learner. _Funny how things work in the Force,_ he thought. _Siv is his padawan and reminds me so much of him at that young age._

Anakin appeared from his bedroom. "Ready to go?" he asked, his anxiety showing from every line in his face.

"Of course."

Anakin and Obi-Wan walked out of his suite and down the hall to the Jedi Council Room. As they walked, both shared nervous laughter. Finally, Obi-Wan spoke. "You're sweating. Relax!"

Anakin turned to face his master briefly. "I am about to do something I've waited ten years to do, Master," he said.

Obi-Wan scoffed and turned back facing the hall.

"You haven't been this tense since your first day training Siv," he replied.

Anakin was thoughtful for a moment and then began to explain the dream he had. "I had another dream last night."

"About what?"

"About Siv," he swallowed hard. "She had her saber out and she had just... murdered you."

Obi-Wan stopped and leaned forward toward him. "Me? Siv killed me?" he asked, surprised.

"Yes. She just killed you and was aiming her weapon at Padmé and I... I wanted her to stop, but... I..." he trailed off, emotion thick in his voice.

Obi-Wan gave him a pat on the back and they both began walking again. "You must be mindful of your Forcesight, Anakin. You know how those dreams work," he said, sounding like he was when Anakin was just an ambitious learner.

"I will. Not all these dreams come to pass. Remember the dream I had about Master Windu? About being thrown out of a window in the Chancellor's office? Never happened, did it? I didn't fear it, so I was able to think rationally and correct it by doing what I should have.

"That's true," said Obi-Wan. "Master Windu still has not lost faith in you to this day because of your obedience to the Force."

Soon, they found themselves at the Council room. "Oh, I need to do something before I go in. Wait for me, okay?" asked Anakin.

Obi-Wan smiled. "Sure."


	6. Precautionary Measures

**chapter six Precautionary Measures**

_You guys are in for a treat! For all those who have been reading, we are caught up in the mysterious dream Anakin had about Siv. He told this dream to Obi-Wan, recounted the details. What will happen, on this day, as we find out more on Anakin Skywalker and his padawan, Siv Miraluka?_

_

* * *

_  
Anakin bounded off to the Medic Lab to see his angel. He spoke with a droid at the door that he was here to see the Senator. The droid guard let him in and he walked to her bed. She was sitting upright, munching happily on a piece of tropical fruit, her favorite.

"Having a good breakfast, Angel?" Anakin laughed. She wiped her lips with a napkin and stood up to hug him. They embraced and he helped her back into the chair.

"Yes, I am, actually. They kept me overnight to keep watch," she said, looking up at him. "You know; for precautionary measures."

"Yea, I know," he said, grimly.

"Anakin," she began. "Do you know what happened last night?"

"No, I don't. I do know there was a fire and you were in it. I went in after you, but the clone guard, Leuitant Buushan, said you were safe."

He looked deeply into her eyes. "I'm not quite sure what I'd do if I lost you."

She smiled sadly and said, "I do. You would continue to be the great and powerful Jedi that you are."

They both were silent for a moment. Anakin broke the silence with a kiss and handed her glass of water to her. "This isn't what I had in mind when I asked you out for breakfast," he said, chuckling.

They both laughed at that. After the laughter subsided, Padmé began with what she had really wanted to say. "Anakin, I need to tell you something about last night." She placed the glass on the side table and looked him straight in th eye.

"When I was getting ready for bed, a guard came in and told me that Master Skywalker's padawan was there to see me."

Anakin's gaze narrowed and he leaned back, resting his leg on his knee.

"When Siv came in without you, I assumed she was bearing a message. Unfortunately, that was message was something I didn't want to hear. She began to tell me how sorry she had acted toward me the last time I came in from Naboo. She apologized and wanted to make amends and start anew. She offered a toast."

Anakin leaned forward, a lump forming in his throat.

"Anakin, she poisoned me. She meant to kill me!" Padmé said, standing up quickly, dropping the white sheet from her lap, spilling it onto the floor.

"She placed a poison in my drink and somehow started a fire in that suite! I have already lost Sabé! I didn't want to have to lose anymore friends!" she said, her voice becoming shrill and louder by the second. "I managed to get out and that's when the first explosion went off. I looked for her, but she had already dissappeared before I could talk to her."

Anakin stood up and wrapped his arms around her. She leaned into his chest, heaving a bit.

_I don't want to lose you, Ani._

Anakin had read her thoughts and thought back to her, knowing she could hear him.

_You won't._

Anakin kissed Padmé on her forehead. He then told her he would be back soon enough; he had to go and explain his actions to the Council.

"I should come with you. We are in this together, now," she said.

Anakin looked at her for a moment, but remembering the dream, he told her he didn't think it was best.

"Why not?" she asked, a little annoyed.

"Because, Angel," he swallowed. "I had a dream through the Force that Siv would try to harm you. And she would kill Obi-Wan."

Padmé's hand flew to her mouth and she gasped. "Siv is going to kill Obi-Wan?"

Anakin nodded his head, hardly believing what he was hearing either.

"I am afraid she would do that. I am also fearful for your well-being, too," he said, a lump forming in his throat. He remembered eveything they had accomplished throughout the the years. Even their love. Today was the cultimation of nearly ten years in the making. After hiding, covering and dousing the flames, their love had yet grown stronger. He remembered that day when he was just an ambitious, young padawan learner. That night when he professed his love for her.

_Anakin and Padmé retired to the sitting room. The fires blazed quietly, much like their own within them. They looked at each other nervously before Anakin began._

_"From the moment I met you, all those years ago, not a day has gone by when I haven't thought of you," Anakin said, staring intently at her, watching for any sign in her eyes._

_He looked down and sighed. "And now that I'm with you again, I'm in agony."_

_"The closer I get to you, the worse it gets."_

_Padmé shifted uneasily toward the edge of the sofa, glancing around the room; anything to avert her eyes from his._

_"The though of not being with you, I can't breathe. I am haunted by the kiss you should have never given me. My heart is beating," he said. "Hoping that that kiss will not become a scar."_

_Again, Padmé shifted farther from him. Her own senses ablaze with what her heart was telling her, too._

_"You are in my very soul, tormenting me. What can I do?" he said. He faced the floor. "I will do anything that you ask."_

_He looked back up to her, seeing if there was any sign or message telling him how she felt._

_Padmé was taken aback. She felt these feelings, too but could not run the risk of both their positions and duties that they must carry._

_Anakin huffed, angrily." If you are suffering as much as I am, please, tell me."_

_"I can't," she said, simply._

_"We can't. It's... just not possible." she said, again._

_"Anything is possible, Padmé. Listen to me," he said._

_"No, you listen," she said, frustrated. She got up from the sofa and stood in front of the hearth. "We live in a real world. Come back to it. You're studying to become a Jedi. I'm... I'm a senator."_

_Anakin looked dismayed and lowered his head._

_"If you follow your thoughts through to conclusion, it'll take us to a place we cannot go, regardless of the way we feel about each other."_

_"Then you do feel something," he retorted, his heart skipping a beat._

_"I will not let you give up your future for me," Padmé replied, holding her ground._

_"You are asking me to be rational," he said, getting up from the sofa to come closer to her. "That is something I know I cannot do. Believe me, I wish I could just wish away my feelings, but I can't."_

_"I will not give in to this."_

_Anakin backed away from her, averting his eyes around the room and taking a few steps away, thinking._

_"Well, you know, it wouldn't have to be that way. We could keep it a secret," he spoke, hushing his last word, as if the walls could hear._

_"We'd be living a lie," Padmé announced. "One we couldn't keep even if we wanted to. I couldn't do that. Could you, Anakin? Could you live like that?"_

_Anakin, shamefaced, lowered his gaze again. "No. You're right. It would destroy us."_

They both agreed to abide by that law. The infernal Code of the Jedi. Obi-Wan Kenobi called him back two days later, telling him that he could leave on the next transport home. He had captured a bounty hunter named Jango Fett at Kamino and was bringing him in for questioning to the Council. Anakin left withoutsomuch as a word to his angel and that was the last he saw of her for five years.

Those years went by, with the Clone Wars unceasing. More and more Jedi were being sent to the outlying systems, and the order was being stretched thin. Anakin would travel to many systems and see many things with his master. He would be granted Master and raised to the rank of Council Member. His love for the senator, though hidden, grew. It was after five years that he saw her again. She was the still serving as senator. And still very much pining for him, too.

Now, they both had decided that ten years was enough. Playful bantering wasn't getting it. He loved her and she loved him. They both felt they were meant to be together. Anakin was going to tell the Council he was retiring and then he would wed her and start a family. Something he had wanted to do for a long time.

-------

Obi-Wan was growing tense waiting for his former padawan. _Anakin, we're going to be late,_ he thought, sending his telepathic message to him.

_Don't worry, Master. I'm almost there,_ came the telepathic reply. Anakin appeared near a column and jogged toward his master.

"Sorry, Master, but I was caught up in some personal matters."

Obi-Wan chuckled. "You must save your 'personal matters' for later. You know how the Council can be when called to a meeting and the one whom called it doesn't show up or is late."

Anakin laughed. "Yes! I remember the time Master Halcyon asked to meet with the Council and was caught in a bad hail storm on the way back from Malastare. He kept the Council waiting for an hour and one even left!"

The two went to step through the door when the sound of boots came click-clack around the east column and a brown-haired girl appeared less than fifty meters from them. "Masters! Wait for me!" she shouted, running toward them with all her might. Obi-Wan gave a warning glance to Anakin and headed inside. Anakin stood to wait on his padawan.

"Why are you going to Council so early, Master?" she asked, flashing her signature grin. When he didn't smile back, she slowly dropped the smile from her face.

"Siv, there are going to be some serious changes between you and I," he began. "Some serious accusations have been brought to mine and Master Obi-Wan's attention.

_Uh-oh! Does he know?_ Siv thought.

"Know what?" Anakin asked, reading her thoughts, eyeing her suspiciously.

"Oh, just about a prank I heard was pulled on Master Ti last week," she lied.

Anakin shook his head and told her that she had to accompany him anyway to the meeting. He was going to come back for her, but since she was already here, she would stay with him throughout the meeting. Siv nodded and walked with him into the Council room. She hadn't been in it before, besides when Anakin took her on as his apprentice. Anakin had taught her to bow to the Masters as she walked in and stood behind her own as the rest of the Council seated.

Yoda was the first to take notice to Siv's presence. "A visitor we have. His padawan, Master Skywalker, has brought with him today."

Anakin nodded. "Yes, Master. It is of upmost importance that she hear this also."

"What is it you have convened this special meeting for?" inquired Mace Windu, whom sat to the right of Yoda.

Anakin stood up and walked to the center of the room. He instructed Siv to follow suit and stand in front of him, placing his hands on her shoulders. "I come to you today with the burden of a request."

"Go on," said Ki-Adi-Mundi, whom sat adjacent from Yoda.

Anakin swallowed nervously. "I have been contemplating this for some time now, and, because of personal reasons, I wish to invoke the Miraluka Admendment on my part."

Looks of perplexion filled the room. At last, Mace answered. "It is a hard and irreversible decision, Anakin. You have been the youngest council member and one of the youngest Master." He eyed him curiously. "Why is it you wish to invoke this right?"

Anakin smiled, but kept his composure. "A very special woman, Masters. Senator Amidala, to be exact."

The members looked and talked amongst themselves before Obi-Wan stood up and addressed them. "Masters, it is true what he says. I believe that this isn't a foolhardy decision, as you can see from his progress of many years since his knighthood."

Siv's eyes grew large. She hadn't killed her! She didn't die! And, to be it all, her master was leaving the Order to be with her!

She spun around, staring at her master, looking at him as if he was a traitor. "You can't do this to me!" she yelled, without thinking.

Anakin looked down at Siv's stormy eyes. She was furious, he could tell. He felt through the Force, but found only darkness; a veil surrounding her.

"Siv, I know everything. She told me. I can't believe you would do such a thing! This is going to be the best for all of us, I believe."

"Master Obi-Wan Kenobi will be your new Master upon my departure."

Siv shook her head violently. She clasped her hands tightly about her head. _This wasn't happening! It couldn't be happening!_ She reached for her lightsaber, when Obi-Wan jumped from his seat and ignited his own blue blade. "No, Siv. You will not do this!" he shouted.

Siv jumped back and ignited her own. With a flick of her wrist, she powered up her blade on full and growled at both her traitors.

"You!" she yelled, pointing her green saber at Obi-Wan. "You were the one to tell him these things! To fill his head with these ideas!"

The other masters ignited their own sabers, but Anakin told them it was between him and Siv only. "Siv," he calmly and quietly spoke. "I know you feel hurt, but you musn't let your emotions control your actions."

Siv turned to him. "But, Master," she said, sarcasm dripping from her voice. "What exactly are you doing then? Following the _Order_?" She exchanged glances between the two Jedi. Letting that be their chance, Obi-Wan ran toward her and tried to grab the saber from her hand. She wriggled away long enough to make a neat slice of his arm, watching the limb fall to the ground and Obi-Wan stumbled backward, grasping at his arm socket.

Anakin stared at Siv. He watched her slice his mentor's arm off and then watched as she came toward him, her blade waving high above her head. the same technique he used so often. He could see her eyes. No longer the bright brown they were, but of red and yellow. The colors of a Sith's eyes. She _had_ been playing with the Dark Side!

Anakin Force-pushed her against the wall, allowing Master Windu to hold her and place magnetizing cuffs about her wrists. He grabbed her lightsaber and Master Yoda called on his commlink for the Detention Center. Anakin rushed over to Obi-Wan, helping his friend down into the chair. His Life Force was weakening from the lost limb and loss of blood.

"It's not.. as bad... as it looks... Anakin," he said, trying to smile, but failing miserably.

Anakin smirked, but quickly tore the hem of his robe and wrapped it about his friend's shoulder, making a tourniquet. Mace walked over with his lightsaber in one hand and one in the other. "I think you should have this, Anakin. It's hers."

-------

Siv's scowl filled the room as she was brought to the Detention Center.

"Name, please," said the clone guard.

"Her name is Siv Miraluka."

The guard looked incredulously at the Jedi behind the girl. "THE Siv Miraluka? Master Skywalker's padawan?" he asked, clearly disbelieving.

"Yes, I am!" Siv yelled. "Now shut up! Both of you!"

The guard and Jedi exchanged glances and both huffed. "I will process her. Place her in the single containment cell at the end of the row. From there, we will wait for orders on what to do with her." The Jedi nodded and he handed Siv to a clone guard to take her to her cell. She took her chance and was off like a rocket booster. She thought she was gaining speed, heading for the door, when she head a smack against her legs and felt her lower half go numb. She fell to the floor and squirmed about, trying to claw her way to the door.

"That will keep her from running away for awhile," said the clone guard, dropping his weapon that he had set from kill to stun.

Siv closed her eyes and screamed inside. She had lost the one she loved, lost her future as a Jedi and was now sentenced to the hellhole they called the Detention Center. She didn't know how much worse things could get. _Where is my lord when I need him? He promised me he would free me should I get into trouble for killing Obi-Wan Kenobi._

-------

Anakin went with Obi-Wan to the Medic Lab. It would give him yet another reason to visit Padmé.

_Padmé_, he thought. _If I hadn't told her I loved her, then maybe none of this would have happened. Siv wouldn't be evil. Siv would be the bright and eager learner I always knew._

Obi-Wan interrupted Anakin's thoughts with one of his own. _Don't blame yourself. It was Siv's choice to make. You did the best anyone could do._ He hoped that had reassured his old padawan.

"Master, I'm not so sure."

Obi-Wan talked to one of the droids and they then set up to sterilize. He took a seat, near the table which contained numerous utensils for repairing skin and small vials of bacta for cleaning wounds. Waiting until he got settled, Anakin then asked to be let in to see the senator.

"She has already left, sir. Two people escorted her to her suite. They were her handmaiden and bodyguard, I presume," said the protocol droid.

"Thank you," he said. Anakin walked back to where Obi-Wan was to find that he was almost finished mending. "I see you and I am becoming more alike," he said, watching the droid test each finger of the mechanical arm that was replacing Obi-wan's lost limb.

Obi-Wan nodded slowly, and watched the droid then place a synthetic hand over the mechanical one, making it appear life-like. "How's Padmé?" he asked.

"She's fine. She's been taken to her an apartment near the Senate." Anakin studied the utensils on the table before talking again. He felt like he had been on a wild bantha ride these two days. Any sense of normalcy would do him good.

"What is going to happen to my padawan? How could she have done this... this... travesty?" he asked himself, more than his mentor.

"The call of the Dark Side is strong, Anakin. You, of all people, should know that," Obi-Wan said, looking at him, then turning back to his new arm.

"Though it doesn't excuse her behavior, it wasn't completely her fault. She was too young to fully understand the Dark Side's lies and contempt."

"How do you think she learned of this?" Anakin asked.

"I don't know. I'll need to meditate on this before answering any of our questions," Obi-Wan said, holding his forearm and testing his fingers mobility in the air in front of him, then making a clenched fist.

"I will ask Master Yoda about these things. Surely he would know what to do," said Anakin.


	7. Choices We Need to Make

**chapter seven Choices We Need To Make**

_Well, well. We've found ourselves nearing a decision. What will become of Siv after her outburst in the Council Room? Read on and see in this next chapter. I promise you won't be dissappointed._

_

* * *

_  
Anakin finished his visit with Obi-Wan to find Master Yoda. He was in his Meditation Chamber. He knocked on the door.  
"Master Yoda? May I enter?"  
"Of course, young Skywalker," he called, from inside.  
Anakin walked in, pulled back his robe and sat cross-legged on the pad in front of him.  
"Fear and resentment, I feel, in you."  
He nodded.  
"Troubled over your padawan, you are?"  
Again, he nodded.  
Yoda shook his head. "These things, feel, you should not," he began, trying to ease his nerves and pain. "Her choice, it was, to turn from the light. Your guidance, we will need most."  
"What are you saying, Master?"  
"Agrees and permits, your leave, the Council does. But retain your training, you should."  
Anakin gave him a funny look, which made the venerable master chuckle.  
"Am I still to be an active Jedi?" he inquired.  
"Your abilities, we will need, to search for the Sith. Gone, but not for long, they were."  
Anakin thought back to that day with Count Dooku in the hangar; as if on cue, a phantom pain ran through his mechanical arm. He hadn't killed Dooku. The Count was a Sith, that was for sure. But what of him now?  
"Many forms, the Sith can take. Always two there were. No more, no less; a master and an apprentice."  
"So, when Master Windu and I destroyed Darth Sidious, his apprentice, Count Dooku, remained?"  
"Mmm, yes. Smart you are."  
"And, now, he is the Master?"  
"Yes."  
"And a Master relies on an apprentice that has been trained in the Jedi arts to carry on what he has learned--"  
"Taken, your padawan, he has, I believe," Yoda finished, growing deeply troubled at what they were learning. If the Sith was reforming, and the Clone Wars are far from over, then this could definitely get worse.  
Anakin didn't know what to say. His padawan, whom he had trained for years, had abandoned all her training, seemingly and had turned to the Dark Side. How had he not seen this coming? Why didn't he see the signs that had been so adamantly there? They were clearly evident to Obi-Wan and Master Yoda, however elusive the source. How had he not seen this coming?  
He stood up, bowing reverently to the green master, when Yoda spoke once more. "Troubled, you should not be, Anakin. Your choice, it wasn't. Only hers," he said, hoping to bring a peace to the younger master's mind.  
"Thank you, Master," he said, turning toward the door, his cloak swirling about his boots. He felt little consolation, wishing in all the galaxy that it hadn't really been his padawan. But, unfortunately, it was.

-------

Padmé sat at the edge of her bed. She was still a little tired, but had to finish readying for her departure. She was going to Naboo to personally inform King Damaca of her leave of absence from the Senate. She wasn't quitting. By no means. She was merely taking an extended leave. Representative Binks, her trusted Gungan friend, would serve in her place. He knew how much she loved helping her people, and with Chancellor Organa, the Galactic Senate was safe.Padmé started to pack her dresses, laying out the ones she was taking when a knock was heard at the door.  
"Milady? It's Dormé," said a quiet voice.  
Padmé told her to come in. Seeing Dormé in Sabé's old uniform brought tears to her eyes.  
"I'm sorry, Milady. I didn't mean to upset you."  
"It's okay, Dormé. You just reminded me of Sabé."  
Dormé, although just a handmaiden, walked over to the senator, embracing her tightly. Padmé smiled a little. I am truely blessed to have a friend like her.  
"It's just still so fresh..."  
Padmé, too, was awash in her feelings of the past few days. Between losing Sabé, to her near-death, to finding that Anakin was leaving the Order for her just a wild shaak ride of emotions.  
I wonder if all this is a premonition of what's to come? Will our lives together be always this hectic?  
Padmé and Dormé let go of their embrace, and the two chatted about going back to Naboo while packing her suitcase.  
"Milady," Dormé began. "Why are you going back to Naboo on such a short trip?"  
Padmé smiled at the question, showing off her famous grin.  
"I am taking an extended leave and wish to personally address King Damaca about it," she said.  
"If it's not too bold for me to ask, Milady," Dormé inquired. "Why?"  
Padmé was taken aback by the frankness of her bodyguard. "Because, I believe I've fallen in love with Master Skywalker."  
Dormé giggled. "Why, it was obvious. All of us could tell you were smitten, Milady," she said.  
Padmé's cheeks reddened at that. "Were we that obvious?" she asked, meekly, slowly taking a dress from the shelf.  
"Yes. I believe even a protocol droid could see that, if you pardon the expression."  
The pair laughed, and, it was, for the first time, in a long time, Padmé felt truly happy about what the universe would bring tomorrow. Dormé and Padmé finished packing and then Padmé called Captain Typho on her comlink.  
"Captain Typho?" she said into the comlink.  
"Yes, Milady?" said her personal bodyguard and captain of her security and ship.  
"Ready my ship. We are going to Naboo for a short visit with King Damaca."

-------

Anakin had got wind that she was leaving from Captain Typho downstairs from her apartment suite. He wanted to visit her one more time before she left. He walked with Captain Typho, talking to him about the Senator's leave. He wondered how he was going to do what he wanted to do in private, but he would just have to make due. With her recent attack, no one would leave her side.  
"Captain Typho," Anakin began. "Is there any way that you could let the senator and I speak privately for a few moments?"  
The captain seemed leery, but, because he knew who the Jedi was, he consented. Anakin was escorted to the Senator's suite and then followed the captain to the door. The captain seemed to rest his eyes on the Jedi. He had a feeling what he was going to do, and he wanted to make sure that the man did things right.  
She's like a daughter to me. If he is going to ask her, he better ask her right, thought the aging captain.  
Anakin knocked on the door. Dormé answered the door.  
"Hello, Master Jedi," she said. "I am assuming you are here to see the senator?" she asked, a smirk spreading across her face.  
"Yes, I am. Is she busy?" he asked, smiling back.  
"She is still packing. I'll let her know you are here," said Dormé, letting him in and going back to Padmé's room.  
Anakin walked around the room. He didn't have some special piece of jewelry, but he knew she wouldn't care about that. She wasn't one who cared about jewels and decorative, frilly things. She loved the simplicity of a peasant's outfit. He'd seen her only once in that outfit, but once was enough to tell all about her. Anakin had to laugh to himself, knowing what he was doing. So, I am really asking her? After all these years, I am going to ask her. He waited another few minutes and then heard soft steps. She had just finished packing and was wearing her dark blue travelers gown. Her hair wasn't done yet, so it hung in ringlets around her face and down her sides. The japor snippet, which he had given to her so long ago, still hung about her neck.  
"Hello, Anakin," she said, her soft grazing drifting over his new Jedi robe and freshly washed hair. Absently, she played with the pendant around her neck. She had kept it under all her gowns. She never took it off.  
'Hello, Padmé," he said, bringing back his lop-sided grin from when he was a boy.  
The two fidgeted, and, after a few moments, Anakin walked over to her and kissed her lightly on the cheek. He held her for a moment, taking in her soft scent before preparing what he wanted to say.  
"I have something special to ask you before you leave," he said, straightforward.  
"My, my, what is the question, Master Jedi?" she said, smiling brightly, curious as to what the man was thinking of.  
Anakin asked her to quietly stand in the middle of the room. She did so and he followed her, clearing his throat.  
"Close your eyes," he said. She did so, still having her bright smile on.  
"Anakin," she began, smiling and giggling. "What are you doing?"  
"You'll see," he smirked. Anakin bent down, on one knee, and took the senator's hand gently. He kissed it and told her to open her eyes. She laughed and giggled, knowing full well what he was doing. Her laughter soon became tears of joy, and she started to wipe them with her free hand.  
"Padmé, from the first day I met you, I loved you. When you told me I was missing my mother, I really was afraid I was never going to see you again. I wanted to be near you, to feel your soothing presence all the time," he said, clearing his throat. "After all those years without you, I knew what I wanted to do when I saw you again. Padmé Naberrie Amidala, it would be my privilege to be chosen as your husband. Angel, would you marry me?"  
Padmé sobbed. She had never been so happy as she was at this moment in time."Yes!" she cried out, leaping into his arms, kissing his face. He picked her up and swung her around, laughing happily. This was what they both had waited for a very long time. A very long time.  
Outside, in the hall, a venerable captain smiled. He did well.  
_  
_


	8. Epilogue

epilogue STAR WARS ALTERED UNIVERSE EPISODE I: THE PADAWAN

_  
One Galactic Standard Week later..._

"Are you sure this thing is on straight?" said Padmé, adjusting the veil in front of her eyes and over her hairline. Dormé smiled and tucked a thin brown lock from in front of the veil to back under it. "You look simply beautiful, Milady."

Padmé half-smiled, half laughed. "After all these years, I think you can call me by my first name, Dormé." She looked herself over one more time in the mirror before turning to Dormé again.

"So, I do look okay, right?" she said, still a bit unsure.

"You look like a radiant bride, Padmé."

Dormé picked up the end of Padmé's gown and began to gather it carefully, watching the lace tumble out from her hand, whereas she would pick it up again.

"I think your gown has too much lace, Padmé," she grinned from ear to ear. Padmé laughed softly and continued to look back to the mirror. Her hair, as difficult as it had been today, had achieved a softer appearance, as if nature itself understood the importance of the day. A soft knocking was heard at the door.

"Come in," said Padmé.

Threepio came in, followed by a whistling Artoo.

"Miss Padmé, Master Yoda wishes to see you and Master Ani before the ceremony," his life-like voice emanating from his steel body.

"Tell Master Yoda I will be there in a moment."

Dormé gave Padmé one last hug, gathered her gown together and carefully handed it to her. She wiped a tear from her eye. Dormé would no longer be Senator Amidala's bodyguard. She would just be, simply, a friend of Padmé Skywalker.

Padmé smiled at her, clutching the train of her gown in her hand, walking out her bedroom door.

Threepio was waiting outside her door. "My, Miss Padmé, you do look quite stunning in your dress," he said, his arms waving about wildly.

"How does a droid know anything about human beauty?" she asked, a touch of true questioning in her voice. The gold-plated droid straightened and said, as-a-matter-of-factly, "Master Ani programmed such things about human beauty and relativism into my main system. I believe it was just after your landing on Tatooine, if I remember correctly."

Padmé smiled again. She turned and began the brisk walk down the hallway and out the door.

-------

Padmé walked into the courtyard. She was wandering what Master Yoda could possibly want to speak to them about before her wedding. _Their_ wedding. It sounded so nice together.

She saw Anakin on the stone bench. In front of him was Yoda and Obi-Wan.

"Glad you could come so quickly, Milady," said Obi-Wan, standing quickly to make a slight bow. Anakin stood also, bowing slightly and watched Master Yoda nod. Padmé blushed. _Even on our own wedding day, he still manages to be cordial toward me. I'm am still a senator, but I am now his wife._

Anakin made room for her on the bench. He was just in his Jedi tunic and pants, but that's who he was. She never wanted to change that.

"I will get right to the point," Obi-Wan said after a moment. "Anakin, it's Siv."

"What about Siv? Is she hurt?" he asked, wondering what now could have happened to his former padawan.

"Escaped, she did. How, we do not," answered Yoda, a deep concern and foreboding surrounding him.

Anakin blinked several times, wondering how in the galaxy this was true. _How could she have done this? Wasn't taking the limb of a Master enough?_

"How could she have done this?" he asked, standing up and pacing back and forth briskly.

"Remember our talk, do you, about your padawan?" Yoda gently asked.

"Yes, I do," he answered.

"What 'talk', Anakin?" asked Obi-Wan, beginning to wonder why he always seemed left out when it came to these things.

Anakin looked into Obi-Wan's eyes. "She is a Sith, Master. She joined the Dark Side." He turned from his face, and sat back at Padmé's side, putting his head in his hands. She placed her hand on his back, rubbing it gently in smooth circles.

"What can we do, Masters? Is there anything we can do about this?" she asked, genuinely concerned about her fiancé's former apprentice. No matter how badly or rude Siv had treated her, she didn't want to see her go into the Dark with only that despicable Count Dooku.

"I don't know," said Obi-Wan, looking to Yoda.

All were silent a moment. Despite the happy occasion, things seem to be going from bad to worse.

"The shroud of the Dark Side, lifted, it has been. Close eye, we must keep, if at all to learn of the Sith's rising."

"Yes, Master. Perhaps, for now, we will continue this conversation later," he said, giving Anakin his best smile. "We shouldn't let this trouble the one bright light in our friends' lives."

The couple smiled, Padmé taking Anakin's hand. After all was said and all was done, Anakin Skywalker was going to marry Senator Padmé Amidala and leave the Order he so strived to maintain all these years.

The group stood up, preparing to leave when Yoda gave one last thought to Anakin.

"How feel you?" he asked, a twinkle in his calm, gold eye.

Anakin turned, still clutching his future wife's hand. Obi-Wan stopped, too, waiting for an answer.

"About what, Master?"

The diminutive Jedi looked gravely at him, but a slight amusement still in his voice. "Help, we will need, to conquer the remaining Separatist outposts. An experienced Jedi, we will need, in dealing with the possibility of the Sith."

Obi-Wan turned to Anakin, whom turned to Padmé, searching fro approval.

_Of course, Ani. This is the path we've chosen together. Don't let me be an obstacle,_ she thought to him, speaking directly to his heart.

"Of course, Master," said Anakin, turning back to face Yoda and Obi-Wan. "I'll do it."

Yoda chuckled. "Settled, it is, then. By order of the Council, placed you back, on official status, we have. In favor, all, let it be so."

Obi-Wan raised his hand, as did Yoda and Padmé.

Anakin shot her a funny look. "How can a senator agree with the Jedi Council?" he smirked.

"Because," she said, straightening his tunic. "I am under the official protection of the Order and thereby allowed to vote on my fiancé's Jedi affairs."

They both smiled again, and he placed a quick kiss on her cheek. They walked to the garden, where the ceremony was to be, in clasped hands. As they left, Obi-Wan stayed behind momentarily.

"You know, Master Yoda," he began, stepping toward the brick pathway. "Perhaps attachments shouldn't be forbidden after all," he said, wistfully.

"Right, you may be, Master Obi-Wan."

-------

Far from the beauty of Naboo and the peaceful wedding that transpired, a cold, angry Jedi apprentice was waiting final judgment from the Council.

_I should have made sure that idiotic senator was dead and killed that treacherous Obi-Wan for doing this to me! If he hadn't grabbed me, I could have murdered him and possibly some of those old fools who call themselves Masters. They thought I wasn't good enough! They all should have to pay..._

Just then, a sound was heard. The familiar hiss of a lightsaber. Siv scrambled from the cold, hard flooring to the front of her cell, careful not too touch the force field sensitive bars. She strained her neck to see what was going on. She couldn't see much; it was too dark. But she felt something. A deep, dark tremor in the Force. It moved her from curiosity to fear. Fear that was completely and utterly unspeakable.

She stumbled backward to watch, as the sound came closer. It reached her cell. She backed up against the far wall of her cell, illuminating the figure enough to see a silhouette of the one wielding the saber. The figure then disengaged their weapon and walked to the side panel of the cell. It pressed a few buttons and she watched, with large eyes, as the force field dissipated and the figure closed in on Siv.

"Siv Miraluka, I presume?" said a deep voice, rising from the figure.

"I am," she said, trembling against the cold wall. "Are you...?"

"Yes. I am Lord Tyranus, the one who has been contacting you these past few months," he began, placing the saber at his hip and bowing slightly to the small girl.

"Now, you will come with me and we will exact our revenge on the Jedi who have caused us such pain."

Siv, feeling her fear slowly slip away, nodded her head. Lord Tyranus handed her a black robe he had carried in and handed it to her.

"Put this on. We have a brisk walk ahead of us."

The dark pair snuck about the Detention Center, going through doors, he dispatching the unsuspecting droid guards and opening different doors. Before long, they both made it out into the dark, cool night. He jumped into a black speeder and ushered her in. She clamored in, and he took off, blazing by the many buildings. She felt the rush of air past her cheeks. She had missed that the past few days.

"You are under my protection now, Siv. I will take care of you," he said, a snarl forming.

Siv smiled, a little. _Since Master Anakin won't take care of me, I guess my new Master will._

Several standard minutes later, the dark speeder parked near the entrance to the Senate. Lord Tyranus raised himself out of the speeder with a quickness not found in men his age. Siv followed suit and walked to a nearby column, drawing the dark robe closer about her face and shoulders. Then he turned to her and told her what they were going to do.

"We are going to take unregistered transport to the system of Malastare. From there, I will show you what you have been looking for for many years."

Siv's heart quickened. She would finally learn the ways that Master Yoda had told her were forbidden to a Jedi. She would become a Sith.

To Be Continued...

Look for _STAR WARS ALTERED UNIVERSE EPISODE II: MASTER AND APPRENTICE_

FEBRUARY / MARCH 2006


End file.
